European Published Patent Application No. 0 875 730 and German Published Patent Application No. 698 15 940 describe a map information display device for use in a vehicle navigation device having a data conversion device for recording points of map data according to a map from a viewpoint through a viewing line originating from the viewpoint and having an angle of depression with respect to the plane of the map, and for perspectively projecting the points of the map data onto a viewing plane, which is fixed perpendicularly to the viewing line and is a predefined distance from the viewpoint in order to generate map display data. This produces a bird's eye view of an surrounding area. A navigation system having a bird's eye view of a surrounding area is also described in French Published Patent Application No. 2 634 707 and in the periodical autoconnect 2005, Vereinigte Motor-Verlage GmbH & Co. KG [United Motor Publishing Houses, Inc.], Leuschnerstr. 1, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany, pages 18 and 21.
European Published Patent Application No. 0 990 119 describes a digital personal communication device having a processor, having a memory accessible to the processor, and having a display that is connected to the processor, the display displaying map information and a position of the digital personal communication device with respect to the map information, the map information including route points, i.e., coordinates, as instructed by the processor.